Retort



Jan. 9, 1923.

/5, S/MPszm/ Jan 9 1923 1 4f L. SIMPSON 80 RETORT. FILED MAR. 10, 1920.2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v Paten-ted dan. v9,/ 1923.

UrrED STATES LOUIS SIMPSON, or OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA.

IRIE/PORT'.

-Retorts, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to improvements in retorts, particularly of atype designed to carry out the treatment of carbonaceous materials, suchas oil shale for the purpose of recovering the hydrocarbon gases,vapours and oils contained therein, and the general objects of 'theinvention are to provide a simple and effective form of retort in whichthe treatment of the materials may be effected in the most economicaland eiiicient manner possible, and in which the various parts of theapparatus will most effectively per-` mgl liquid is circulated by anyconvenient form the functions required of them.

More specific objects of the invention are to provide for thedistribution of the in- .ducted treating gases at different pointsthroughout the mass, and at the same time to provide for the eduction ofthe evolved gases.l

, Further objects still are to provide 1mprovements in mechanism for--feeding and passage of\t he shale, and preventing overheating of theapparatus.

It consists essentially of the improved construction hereinafterdescribed in detail in the accompanying specification and drawings.

ln the drawings Figure'l is a sectional elevation of a retortembodyingthe invention.

, Figure 2 is a sectional elevation taken at right angles to Figure 1 Inthe drawings, like characters of reference indicate corresponding partsin all th figures.

Referring to the drawings, A represents 'a casing of the retort,constructed of suitable material, such as steeliplate, rivetedi orwelded together in` accordance with" the practice well known in the art.f

The casing is divided internally". into `a plurality of chambers B, bymeans of vertically extending partitions C, the top of which chambersOpen into a pocket or hopper D into which the .material such as oilshale, 'which is to be treated is fed by any convenient means,being'directed into the openings of the chambers B by suitable delectingplates 10, and being fed through the opening'by 4suitable feeding meanssuch as the paddlev wheel feeding members 11 mounted on the transverselyextending shaft 12, which is driven from any convenient source of power.

' The lower part of each of the chambers B are constructed to formdischarge outlets E above which suitable .delivering mechanism such aspairs of rolls F and G operate, and suitable V-shaped deflectors H,being placed beneath the opening of the rolls to deflectd the shale tothe outer sides of the outlets.

To cool the spent shale and recover thereof as much heat as may be founddesirable before theshale is removed from the chamber B, water jackets Iare provided around the lower portion of the chambers, which -jacketsalso surround the outlets E, and

means.

The spent shale passing through the outlet E is fed laterally bysuitable spiral conveyors J driven from a suitable source of power,which delivers the spent shale into a continuously moving conveyor K ofany suitable type, that shown being a belt conveyor..

The distillation, carbonization or vaporization of the shale 0r othermaterial to be treated is effected by the introduction of fixed heatedgases into the chambers B, and means are provided for, introducinglthese gases ali kliiierent points throughout'lthe chamber, and insucha'way as to be uniformly distributed through the mass.

I have shown at the sides of each of the chambers .B a plurality oftapered discharge elements L having'overlapping walls which form ports13, through which the, gas is inducted, the gases being supplied toports 14 within the elements L by any suitable' or convenient means. Itwill be seen that. as the walls 15 of the elements L are tapered theywill not interfere, but rather facilitate the/discharge of the shalethrough the chambers.

f The hydrocarbon and other gases and vapours,l iquids and volatileliquids and oils evolved in-the distilling operation, together with thethick gases induced are designed to 'be educed at different ointsthroughout the mass. through the e ucting elements M,

which are also tapered and formed with overlapping walls, the lowermostelement i ment and condensation -in suitable treatin and condensingapparatus. vIt will be seen that the educting elements I are spacedbetween the inducting elements L and have their walls tapered, wherebyclear passagel will be provided between the two elements for the shaleor other material bei'ng treated.

In carrying out the process, oil shale or other suitable material to betreated is introduced into the conductor D and fed through the chambersB where it is subjected to the heat by the paage therethrough of asuper-heated xed gas. The

, gas which is used may for instance be the incondensible portion of thegaseseduced, and will in that case be` one or more of the lighthydrocarbon series.

yThe heat treatment of the shale will result in the eduction of valuablegases, vapours and oils, which may be condensed and separatedin themanner well known in the art. y I

The spent shale passes ,out as already explained, and is received by theconveyor K and may be subjected to such further treatment as desired.

It will be seen that owing to the simple construction of lthe inductingand educting elements, the ports and openings' within may be readily'kept clean and any 'deposit adhering to' the walls may beeasily removedwithout removing the plates.l A

The entire retort chamber may be su1t-' "ably protected by heatinsulating material,

and the whole may be enclosed in re-enforced concrete. i

The temperature to which the shale is heated may be determined by theamountlof heat given to the fixed gases with which it is treated, and bythe quantity of fixed gases supplied.

Asv many changes could be made in the above construction, and manyapparent-ly widely different embodiments of my invention, within thescope of the claims, conf structed without 'departing from the spirit orscope thereof, it is intended that all mati, ter contained in theaccompanying specilication and drawings shall be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Vhat I claim as my invention is: A

1. A retort for the treatment of carboniferous material comprising aplurality of vertically arranged chambers provided with defiector platesat the top opening into a single supply hopper for said chambers, meansfor feeding materia-ls from the hopper to the chambers, dischargeoutlets in the lower part of the chambers, V-shaped delectors therefor,and means for educting the spent materials through said outlets, aplurality of gas supply elements for the sides of the chambers formedwith tapered overlapping walls adapted to provide gas induction portstherefor, ports vwithin said elements and means for supplying heated gasthereto, a plurality of educting elements in spaced relationship to saidsupply elements in said chambers and similarly formed with taperedoverlapping walls, inlets formed in the ends thereof, a body enclosingthe elements, ari outlet in the bodyand a conduit extending between theuppermost inlet and said outlet, jacket cooling means for said chambers,and heat insulating means for thefretort.A

2. A retort of the class described comprising a plurality of separatechambers provided with a single feed hopper common to all of saidchambers, meansfor feeding ma terials from the hopper to thechambers, adischarge outlet for each chamber, and

means for discharging the spent material educting element in eachchamber c0mpris` a ing a hollow body portion provided with an outlet andhaving the lower end thereof open to forman inlet, said body beingfurther provided with a pocket open to the retort above said'inlet, anda conduit extending between said pocket and said outlet, means for`cool-' ing the lower portion of the chambers, and heat insulating'meansfor the retort.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my handin the presence of awitness.

LOUIS SIMPSON

